A new UN resolution that seems to have escaped the attention of most mainstream media is bound to open Pandora’s Box in many theatres, especially in conflict zones. On May 24, the UN Security Council approved a ban on the use of starvation as a weapon of war. This ruling will particularly hit hard any conflict that causes food insecurity, blocking food aid or bombing markets. It is a very big mouthful to swallow and is rewriting the art of war, where one party sieges an enemy position to force them into submission. Attacking food convoys was one way to do it now it has been turned into a war crime that will surely keep the War Crimes tribunal in The Hague very busy, if it does its job as it should. Right now, that new crime is taking place wherever there is a conflict. If someone cannot go outdoors to look for food for fear of being caught between warring parties, a crime has been committed. In short, anything that interferes with the smooth working of the stomach during conflict, is a war crime. The law should have differentiated between intentional starvation of a section of a population from a case of force majeur, collateral outcome of conflict. The resolution was sponsored by the Netherlands, a country that has not seen any major combat action for years, apart from the Bosnian war where it was accused of abandoning Muslims to their slaughter. So the framers of the resolution could be excused as they are not in sync with the reality of conflict. But, as said earlier, it has given the world a test that it is bound to fail. It will be interesting to see how the ICC navigates through all the conflicts that are currently taking place, some supported by the very members of the Security Council.
